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Doraemon in North America
Doraemon in North America refers to the English adaptation of the Doraemon series in North America. Manga In July 2013, Fujiko Fujio Productions announced that they along with Voyager Japan and AltJapan Co., Ltd would release an English version of the manga digitally on the Amazon Kindle e-book service in North America. The first volume was released by Shogakukan on November 23, 2013. A print edition has yet to be released. Changes *The manga is in full-color. *Each volume contains selected chapters from the original manga. *Dorayaki is called "Fudgy Pudgy Pie". Character name changes *Nobita - Noby *Suneo - Sneech *Gian - Big G *Jaiko - Little G *Tamako - Tammy *Sewashi - Soby *Dekisugi - Ace Anime 1979 anime Although Doraemon (1979 anime) has not been released in North America, two unsuccessful attempts were made to release an English version. In 1985, Ted Turner acquired the US rights to the 1979 anime and planned to air the first 50 episodes on TBS (known during the time as SuperStation WTBS). For unknown reasons, the English version got cancelled before any episodes could air and the license was eventually dropped. Many people attribute the cancellation to the levels of censorship that would be applied to make it acceptable by FCC standards, however it is also rumored that the TV producers disliked Nobita's dependence on Doraemon. According to Fred Patten, Streamline Pictures asked lots of TV producers including Patten to get them the 1979 anime, following the huge success of Pokémon on American TV. However, the TV producers rejected the request and would explain that the 1979 anime would not succeed in the United States due to it being "too ethnically Japanese" and having content that would be inappropriate for American children. Sometime during the early 2000s, Unbound Creative, Inc. (known during the time as phuuz entertainment inc.) made a pilot episode for network pitching, but it was never picked up by any network most likely due to lack of interest. The amount of edits done in the pilot, the voice actors plus their roles, and the episode that was dubbed remain unknown. 2005 anime TV Japan aired Doraemon (2005 anime) in its original Japanese version in the United States and Canada every Friday at 6:30 PM. In March 2014, it was taken off the network's schedule and was replaced by the Anne of Green Gables anime. On May 9, 2014, Nikkei announced that The Walt Disney Company would begin running an English dub of the 2005 anime on Disney XD in the United States starting in July 2014. The network would run a total of 26 episodes. Fujiko Fujio Productions, TV Asahi, and Shin-Ei Animation produced the English dub together with Bang Zoom! Entertaiment. The dub is currently distributed by Viz Media. TV Asahi has made an agreement with Disney to make the English dub the global standard. The dub has been edited to appeal more to American audiences and its strict guidelines of violence, depictions of discrimination, and depictions of sexual content. The changes have been largely panned by American otaku, and many believe Disney was behind the changes, which is actually false (the changes were done by Fujiko Fujio Productions and TV Asahi). The dub focuses heavily on episodes that feature more action rather than those that focus on "heartwarming relationships". The animation edits were done by the South Korean animation studio, Studio Mir, who also did the animation edits for the Korean dub. On June 17, 2014, Fujko Fujio Productions and Viz Media have opened an English website for the anime. The website features character info, a gadget list, a free preview of the manga, a link to the Doraemon Repair Shop app, and a trailer that shows the intro of the dub. The intro was later replaced by a video of the full episode "Big G: Master Chef". On June 19, 2014, Japan Plus Inc., announced that the first episode of the dub would make its US premiere screening at the Japan America Theater during the Anime De Summer Festival on July 5, 2014. The dub premiered on July 7, 2014. Episodes aired every weekday at 12:30 PM ET/11:30 AM CT, and on August 18, 2014 moved up to 11:00 AM ET/10:00 AM CT. Currently, there are no plans for the dub to air on the Canadian counterpart of Disney XD. Despite the dub having a successful run, it is currently unknown if whether or not Disney will renew the dub for a second season. Changes *The setting has been changed from Japan to a fictitious place in America. *Omurice are called pancakes. *Chopsticks are replaced by forks. *Japanese yen notes are replaced by US dollar bills. *Japanese check marks have been replaced by "X" marks along with an "F" letter grade added on test papers. *Japanese signage has been translated into English. *Ishiyaki imo stands have been replaced by popcorn stands. *Most snacks are replaced by fruits due to healthy eating standards applied to children's programming by the FCC. *Doraemon is mistaken for a seal instead of a tanuki/raccoon. *Shizuka's character has been partially changed to reflect a more tomboyish personality, although her sweet and kind personality were retained. This was done because in test viewings of the Japanese version, most of the American children requested for her character to be changed since her traditionally Japanese habits were difficult to understand. In addition, her love for bathing and sweet potatoes aren't seen or mentioned. *There is no theme song leading towards the episode: Instead, Doraemon provides a synopsis narration about how he was sent back to the future to aid Nobita, and the troubles that he encounters. *All scenes showing Nobisuke lying on a tatami mat have been removed. *Dorayaki are referred to as "Yummy Buns". *The episodes are dubbed out of order. *The background music in the Japanese version has been replaced by original compositions in order to appeal more to American audiences. *The episode title card sequence is no longer present. The episode title is instead shown as an overlay at the beginning of the episode. *Fade to black transitions have been added to most of the episodes. Character name changes *Nobita - Noby *Suneo - Sneech *Gian - Big G *Jaiko - Little G *Sewashi - Soby *Shizuka - Sue *Dekisugi - Ace Voice cast *Doraemon - Mona Marshall *Suneo (Sneech) - Brian Beacock *Nobita (Noby) - Johnny Young Bosch *Gian (Big G) - Kaiji Tang *Shizuka (Sue) - Cassandra Morris *Tamako (Tammy) - Mari Devon *Nobisuke (Toby) - Tony Oliver *Sewashi (Soby) - Max Mittelman *Jaiko (Little G) - Minae Noji *Dekisugi (Ace Goody) - Spike Spencer *Mini doras - Cristina Valenzuela *Gian's mother - Jessica Gee *Gian's father - Kirk Thorton *Suneo's mother - Dorothy Fahn *Sensei (Mr. S) - Keith Silverstein Films Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 got a private screening with English subtitles in Washington D.C. on November 14, 2008, marking the first time Doraemon made an appearance in the United States. Stand by Me Doraemon got an English dub produced by Bang Zoom! Entertainment and premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival on October 24, 2014. However, Bang Zoom has yet to announce any plans on releasing it in the United States.Category:Doraemon outside Japan Trivia *For years, it was believed that the reason Doraemon was never exported to the United States was due to it being "too old", "too long", and "too Japanese" for the American market. It was also believed that the high costs of the license would be too much of a financial risk. *TV Asahi aired 10 episodes of the 2005 anime English dub in Japan from August 1 to August 10, 2014.